US Air Force Advocates for Transgender Lifestyle in Children
Moody Air Force Base recently “celebrated” a “Diversity Day” that included a transgender veteran, retired USAF Major Leonard Perry, speaking about his lifestyle, as he now lives as a woman named Laura:
“[Gender dysphoria] is a medical condition. They’ve tried therapies and other treatments for it, but none of that has really worked. What they’ve found is transitioning to the identified gender is the only treatment that has consistently solved the dysphoria.”
(Perry was previously profiled by the Air Force for no reason other than his sexual lifestyle.)
Given that the US military supports free speech and permits its troops to express their freedoms within the constraints of military policy and the Constitution, Perry’s monologue supporting neo-sexual lifestyles is disturbing, but not impermissible.
What is an issue, however, is the perception the US Air Force is officially advocating for a particular viewpoint on a controversial topic — the morality of “changing” genders — and how the Air Force chose to advocate for that topic. The article by A1C Janiqua Robinson of Moody’s Public Affairs, entitled “Transgender veteran lives inner truth,” began with a hypothetical gender-confused example — of a child:
A 9-year-old boy stands in front of the mirror looking at his outfit for the day. His mom comes behind him smiling and comments on what a handsome young man he is becoming. He looks at his mom with sad eyes and replies “I should have been a girl.” Taken aback, his mom smiles and says “Don’t be silly, go play with your trucks.”
This is the reality people living with gender dysphoria face; feeling they are in the wrong body, and their internal feelings don’t match their outward appearance.
The article goes on to demean the viewpoint that a boy who thinks he’s a girl should be helped to value the person that God made him — a boy. Instead, it promotes the viewpoint that the “only way” for people with this gender confusion is to “transition” them to the gender they want to be. And it makes that point by using a 9-year old boy as an example.
Not only does the Air Force article promote a particular viewpoint of an unsettled and controversial issue, it is also unique because no one has — or likely has dared to — point out the Air Force is normally not permitted to advocate on such issues.
For example, consider if the 9-year old in the beginning of the article had said something to his mom about eternity, and the mom gave an atheistic response. Then, consider if the article introduced retired Gen Jerry Boykin, who went on to explain the need for faith in Christ, and the value and virtue of Christians living out their faith with the full support of the US military — and the eternal impact of such a decision.
Such an article would be just like this one by the Air Force — except the Air Force would be permitting the text to advocate for Christianity rather than neo-sexuality.
What are the chances that would get past the censors, much less survive the public criticism from a small but vocal minority of activists?
The article ends with this conclusion by the Air Force Public Affairs:
Being able to be your true self without fear of discrimination or reprisal is important in the military, civilian sector and interpersonal relationships.
It would be nice if the US military would publish an official article saying the same thing about more “diverse” groups on its “diversity” days, which predictably focus on gender, sex, and race rather than diversity. Christians, for example, would also like to be “true to” themselves and serve “without fear of discrimination.”
While the military has occasionally rebuffed attacks against religious freedom by critics, it has been more reluctant to support the virtue of Christianity as it has the virtue of homosexuality and transgenderism.
Christians, too, would like the reassurance they can “live their inner truth.”
Think it will happen?
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As the author of the article, I wanted to correct a couple of assumptions and false conclusions you made in your response to my article.
You said:
The introduction was not a hypothetical scenario but a memory Laura Perry had from childhood.
I am not advocating for nor against gender confusion at all because it was never mentioned in my article. My article focuses on explaining what gender dysphoria and being transgender is, it doesn’t call for anyone to rally for or against it, it just tells Laura Perry’s story.
You said:
The article doesn’t demean any viewpoint on gender confusion or promote that the only way to remedy gender confusion is to transition to the gender they want to be. The quote that I think you are referring to is speaking about treatments specifically for people with gender dysphoria.
Gender dysphoria is a medical condition which is diagnosed by the persistent unease with the gender someone is assigned at birth.
You said:
I personally did not write the article to advocate for or against this “controversial issue”. The article was written to share Laura Perry’s story. At no point in the article do I urge readers to accept, tolerate, agree with or despise this “controversial issue”.
You said:
I’ve been in the military for just under two years and have been a Christian my entire life. In no way has the military stopped me from living out my faith without its full support. Before any official military function a Christian chaplain usually prays, everyone bows their head, remains silent and respects the Christian faith with full support whether they believe or not.
You said:
That’s not the conclusion to the article and also doesn’t help get your point across. Being your true self is not exclusive to people who are transgender, it pertains to everyone.
Earlier this year, my colleague wrote an article about the first diversity day our base celebrated and why it is important for the Air Force to be diverse. I also wrote a commentary earlier this year about the importance of diversity and why having days where we learn about other cultures are important.
From the moment we enter any branch of service, we are serving with people from all walks of life. In order to be successful in protecting our fellow Americans’ freedoms, we need to be free of our prejudices and stand with our brothers and sisters in arms to protect each other from our enemies. Without learning about the diversity within our branch and accepting the people around us, regardless of who they are, we would fail.
That’s why it was important that I wrote an article that shared a story but didn’t advocate for a particular point of view and that’s why my conclusion was actually:
Since we’d already done articles about the importance of diversity, I decided to share a personal story from someone who is diverse.
Edited for formatting.
@Janiqua P. Robinson
Your feedback is welcomed and appreciated.
As a Public Affairs representative, I hope you will consider that a media article you write may not always be understood as you intended — and, sometimes, part of the reason may be the way it was written.
For example, you told the story of the 9-year-old boy without attribution, though you now say it wasn’t original. Editing your article with some form of citation or attribution would mitigate a misunderstanding that it is a story from the Air Force Public Affairs office.
While you may not have intended it, the article does advocate a viewpoint, even if passively at some points. For example, the title described Perry’s situation as “inner truth”, and your article states that Perry is being his “true self,” both of which are positive value judgments about transgenderism. Further, without dislaimer, clarification or qualification, the article provides an official Air Force platform for one viewpoint on a controversial issue.
In a perfect world, anyone could pull up another Air Force article and see the other viewpoint (for example, the belief people should be helped to value the person/gender God actually made them), so there would be no implication the Air Force was taking an official position promoting or discouraging any particular form of sexual behavior. But as SH notes, there aren’t any articles from the Air Force on the other viewpoint.
Those are some of the reasons it was very easy to take something from your article you say you did not intend.
It seems, though, that the article may indeed reflect some of your personal views on transgenderism. For example, you just said
and you stated it as fact. But to a person who holds the “other viewpoint,” that’s nonsense. A person isn’t “assigned” a gender at birth. They have XX or XY chromosomes long before they’re born, and those chromosomes determine their gender — not a doctor checking them out like a farm animal after they’re born.
It’s great that your experience as a Christian has been positive in the Air Force. Would you consider writing about and publishing your personal story as a Christian in the Air Force? Such an article could provide an inspiration for others.
You made a point of speaking about the “importance of diversity” and said “I decided to share a personal story from someone who is diverse.” You’d probably have a challenge finding a recent Air Force article about a Christian’s faith used as an example of diversity. As noted above, articles about diversity tend to focus on race/ethnicity and sexuality. It would seem the discussions on “diversity” aren’t very “diverse.”
Janiqua, the article clearly stated perception (advocating for a particular viewpoint on a controversial topic), which makes sense. How many articles have you published that allowed Christians to articulate their memories of Jesus Christ saving them, or how the Bible is the standard for their rule of faith and practice? The fact that homosexual stories are allowed to be published on Air Force publications, but long Christians testimonials are obscured, makes sense what position is being advocating for.
Your article does demean a viewpoint, because it perverts God’s design for creation, since the hypothetical example was used to stir emotions to advocate that people can be what they want to be, as opposed to being what God made them.
You are not being truthful when you say that “you did not write the article to advocate for or against this controversial issue.” Your comments which immediately came after Perry’s diatribe about “being transgender does not make us less human,” and “we were just closeted gays and lesbians,” exposes what you were advocating for, since you stated: “Being able to be your true self without fear of discrimination or reprisal is important in the military, civilian sector and interpersonal relationships.”
Its interesting that you claim to be a Christian, yet you publish an article that makes Perry look like a victim, and a hero. Where do you see Christians doing that in the Bible? You will find it in 1 Confusions 666, but not in 1 Corinthians 5:9-11. Also, please share with me the Air Force published articles that you have written where the entire article is about Airmen testimonials that explain how Christ has changed their life. So much for living out your faith, that you publish diversity articles of sexually immoral, gender confused men, but long testimonials of Christ are no where to be found.
It seems you twist things to fit your viewpoint. Even with the example of the 9-year-old in front of the mirror questioning their gender, nowere in the article did i advocate for or against transgenderism in chidren. Transgenderism isn’t mentioned in the article until the first quote which was done purposely becuase i set the tone that this article is specfically speaking about the medical condition of gender dysphoria and one persons story regarding the condition.
You saw the outline read the introduction and right there drew the conclusion that i was advocating for the lifestyle without really reading the article.
For example, you said:
“It seems, though, that the article may indeed reflect some of your personal views on transgenderism. For example, you just said
Gender dysphoria is a medical condition which is diagnosed by the persistent unease with the gender someone is assigned at birth.
and you stated it as fact. But to a person who holds the “other viewpoint,” that’s nonsense. A person isn’t “assigned” a gender at birth. They have XX or XY chromosomes long before they’re born, and those chromosomes determine their gender — not a doctor checking them out like a farm animal after they’re born.”
There is a difference between gender and sex. Gender is a socially constructed definition of women and men while sex is the biological biological characteristics of women and men. Gender is determined by the conception of tasks, functions and roles attributed to women and men in society and in public and private life.
This is not an opinion this is a fact. Regardless of the chromosomes a person is given in the womb some babies don’t get the right amount of hormones to completely develop them into males or females and the parents choose their sex at birth or decide to let the child grow and choose on their own.
Gender dysphoria is a medical condition, that is not an opinion that is a fact. Some people with gender dysphoria don’t have a problem with their biological sex, some just don’t fit in with the way gender is constructed in society.
You said:
“You’d probably have a challenge finding a recent Air Force article about a Christian’s faith used as an example of diversity. As noted above, articles about diversity tend to focus on race/ethnicity and sexuality. It would seem the discussions on “diversity” aren’t very “diverse.””
Air Force wide there are articles that harp on the diversity of hobbies and professions and don’t mention race/ethnicity or sexuality. Furthermore diversity of religion is engrained into the Air Force.
I personally do not shy away from any kind of article let alone one about someone’s religion but i do understand that if i were to tell the story of a religous person I’d have to be careful and stick to just telling their story and not advocating for or against their religion just as I told Laura Perry’s story without advocating for or against the transgender lifestyle.
To me, the active persecution of the christian lifestyle isn’t a real thing, the only time I’ve seen people get in touble for expressing their religous beliefs is when they try to convert others or talk to others from a place of religous supremacy. As a christian I’ve never been villified or persecuted for my beliefs but i also don’t go around telling people that my religion is right and theirs is wrong.
@Janiqua P. Robinson
The conversation in this thread has begun to diverge from your article. What I hope doesn’t get lost is the fact you’ve said people are reading your article in a way you say you didn’t intend.
You’re surely going to write more in the future. You’ll never make everyone happy, but you might consider carefully choosing your words to reduce the possibility your articles will be “misread”.
For example, the phrase “assigned at birth” is not a neutral phrase. It is a loaded phrase used by transgender activists to rebut the claim that boys and girls are “born this way”. When you used that phrase, you borrowed their vocabulary — which certainly makes it seem as though you’re advocating for their cause.
Imagine using the phrase “black lives matter” the same way. Its connotation is far greater than its mere semantics.
To be fair, the article above does not accuse you of advocating for transgenderism. It said the perception was the Air Force did so. That perception is furthered, in part, by the lack of official Air Force articles “advocating” the other point of view (something over which you have little control).
The lack of such articles is something you now seem fairly dismissive about:
That’s a deflection. It has nothing to do with the presence or absence of articles on the Christian faith.
That’s dismissive. You’ve essentially conceded the point there aren’t many articles on religious diversity but then declared it doesn’t matter.
You said you “haven’t come in contact” with people who might want to speak about their faith for an article. Looks like you have your idea for your next assignment. Head down to the chapel and talk to the chaplains. Try to get a “diverse” religious response. Let them know about this conversation, and then publish an article on what the chaplains had to say. Could be interesting.
God bless you in your future writing.
You said:
“Janiqua, the article clearly stated perception (advocating for a particular viewpoint on a controversial topic), which makes sense. How many articles have you published that allowed Christians to articulate their memories of Jesus Christ saving them, or how the Bible is the standard for their rule of faith and practice? The fact that homosexual stories are allowed to be published on Air Force publications, but long Christians testimonials are obscured, makes sense what position is being advocating for.”
I haven’t written an article from that viewpoint because I haven’t come in contact with someone who wanted their story told and wanted that to be at the center of it. It’s not something that couldn’t be done but just as you said by writing about the transgender lifestyle automatically demeans the Christian viewpoint and advocates for the lifestyle, that’s how someone could view a neutral article about one person’s story about Christianity.
While in my article I neither advocate for or against transgenderism by making gender dysphoria and Laura Perry’s story the focus of the article, you still manage to draw the conclusion that I’m advocating for this way of life which is not necessarily the case.
You said:
“You are not being truthful when you say that “you did not write the article to advocate for or against this controversial issue.” Your comments which immediately came after Perry’s diatribe about “being transgender does not make us less human,” and “we were just closeted gays and lesbians,” exposes what you were advocating for, since you stated: “Being able to be your true self without fear of discrimination or reprisal is important in the military, civilian sector and interpersonal relationships.”
I’m advocating for people to be true to themselves and not have to worry about discrimination or reprisal. That is not exclusive to a single community and also does not mean that I advocate for the lifestyle of one community over the other.
You said:
“Your article does demean a viewpoint, because it perverts God’s design for creation, since the hypothetical example was used to stir emotions to advocate that people can be what they want to be, as opposed to being what God made them.”
The example was written to grab your attention and to show you the internal battle that people with the medical condition of gender dysphoria may deal with.
You said:
“Its interesting that you claim to be a Christian, yet you publish an article that makes Perry look like a victim, and a hero. Where do you see Christians doing that in the Bible? You will find it in 1 Confusions 666, but not in 1 Corinthians 5:9-11. Also, please share with me the Air Force published articles that you have written where the entire article is about Airmen testimonials that explain how Christ has changed their life. So much for living out your faith, that you publish diversity articles of sexually immoral, gender confused men, but long testimonials of Christ are no where to be found.”
It’s interesting how you automatically challenge my beliefs and my walk in faith when you clearly have judged me even though GOD is the only true judge. You speak from a place of arrogance and superiority, as if your walk is more important or valid than mine and you “advocate” for Christ from a position of hate as opposed to using love to reach other people.
“It’s interesting how you automatically challenge my beliefs and my walk in faith when you clearly have judged even though GOD is the only true judge. You speak from a place of arrogance and superiority, as if your walk is more important or valid than mine and you advocate for Christ from a position of hate as opposed to using love to reach other people.”
Yes, Janiqua, let the hypocrisy and hate flow from your keyboard. Shed more light upon the hatred in your heart.
This is why you are wrong:
You claim to be a Spirit-filled Christian, but the Spirit hates sin. So, why do you allow and advocate for those who remorselessly swim in sin? LGBT is sin, and while we as Christ-centered people should not discriminate against them for their sin, we should not be encouraging their sin, either. It is called, “tolerance without acceptance”, and it is a logical position to have because tolerance is not the same as acceptance, not matter how much the LGBT advocates would like it to be.
When you continue to allow people to sin; when you tell them that it is ok for them to continue in sin… what type of fruit are you trying to grow, exactly?
Another reason why you are wrong is because you claim that JD, and all conservative Christians, “advocate for Christ from a position of hate”. That is incorrect because disagreement with LGBT life-choices is not the same as hate. JD would only be advocating for hate if he was openly saying on this blog that LGBTs should be harmed for choosing an alternative sexuality. He is doing no such thing, and neither does 99% of the rest of the “Christian Right”. You should definitely NOT be using the term hate so lightly, because an American Transgender who is sad because some people are mean is not the same as the Indian Christians currently getting maimed and murdered because of actual hatred.
One more reason why you are wrong is because you pulled the “don’t judge card”, yet you ignore that we, as Christ-centered people, are actually encouraged to judge. We are told that we are to call sin out when we see it, which is making a judgment call by definition. Furthermore, your accusation of JD speaking, “from a place of superiority and arrogance” is also a judgment. From where I am standing, your the own speaking from a position of superiority and arrogance.
Lastly, you are wrong because the tone of your response clearly shows that your accusation of hate was made in arrogant hate, and like a lot of Left-wing Americans, you seem to live for the hatred of conservatism, and of Christians who have a conservative view of the Bible and of Christianity. If you are supposedly reaching people through love, start showing some to Christians who don’t share your laissez-faire view of sinful lifestyles.
BTW, I feel compelled to inform you that the existence of gender-fluidity and transgenderism is proof of nurture, not nature.
@Janiqua P. Robinson
Its ironic that you call yourself a Christian and you believe that “gender is a socially constructed definition of women and men…,” and that “gender is determined by the conception of tasks, functions, and roles attributed to women and men in society and in public and private life.” Please explain where in the “Christian” Bible do you justify your presuppositions? You will not find that lie anywhere in the Bible.
The Lord has made it patently clear through the testimony of Scripture and by manifest reasoning, that He created male and female (Gen. 1:27), and once you deny this fundamental “Christian” truth, you are doing exactly what the serpent did when he challenged the authority of God’s Word (Gen. 3:4). This is the difference between true “Christianity” (John 14:15), and false “Christianity” (Matt. 7:21): True Christians love the Word and they obey it (Psalm 119:47), while fake Christians will not (Titus 1:16).
After reading your anti-biblical position on gender that cannot be warranted in Scripture, I can see why you have never been persecuted for your professing Christian faith: there’s nothing to persecute you for. You have no problem publishing sexual immorality regardless if the Bible condemns this (1 Cor. 6:9-10), and you feel that gender is determined by the conception of tasks, etc., which is antithetical to what the Bible teaches (Gen. 1:27). As Jesus said, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own…” (John 15:19).
Also, when you claim that you are not trying to advocate for any one religion, and you want people to be true to themselves, you should think about the implications of this, especially since you call yourself a Christian. In the case of Mr. Perry (not Mrs. Perry) you sent a message that people should be true to their sin. Gender dysphoria is not a medical condition; it is called sin, and many who suffer from this sin are also suffering the consequences of it (Rom. 1:26). Christians should love them by sharing the Gospel (Mark 1:15) with them, to help them (1 Cor. 6:11), and not encourage them to be true to their sin.
Have you ever read Luke 13:3? I believe we treat people with love and dignity no matter who they are, but this does not mean that we should publicize their sin, and exhort them to be true to this type of sexual immorality. By the way, since you profess Christianity, you should be aware that you will not find examples in the “Christian” Bible that advocates for sexually immoral people to be true to their sin. What you will find is our Master telling us: He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad (Matt. 12:30).
Also, you are correct, that I cannot show you articles I have written in Air Force publication (Christian testimonials), because I have been discriminated against because of my Christian faith. However, you will find several articles I have written on line that clearly articulate the tenets of biblical Christianity. A simple google search will show you how I live out my Christian faith. Also, you can review the chaplain defense articles right here on Christianfighterpilot.com.
Lastly, when you start quoting “judge not,” you should learn how to do it properly. If you read your Bible, you will see that Christians should not judge hypocritically (Matt. 7:1-5) or by appearance (John 7:24). I am not judging you hypocritically, since I do not support sexual immorality, and I am not judging you by appearance, since I do not even know what you look like. As a Christian, I am judging your anti-biblical presuppositions because it brings reproach upon Christ. Therefore, my judgement is not by appearance but with “right judgement” (John 7:24), and righteous (Lev. 19:15).
Since you have no biblical warrant for your arguments, you should review 2 Corinthians 13:5, and ask yourself: “Am I really a Christian?”
In closing, since you ended your last reply with a reference to love, I will also:
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6).
What a brilliant biblically sound response by SH.
I’ll pray for all of you and here’s some food for thought.
https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=pYRAtUpVfA0
Typical, you deflected instead of defending your position.
#Anonymous Patriot,
Of course she did. That is exactly what people will do when the Bible is not their authority. They will run to teachers who will tickle their ears (2 Tim. 4:3), which is why she sent that inane video.